Duke Drops Overtime Heartbreaker at Clemson

Friday, October 16

Clemson, S.C.

8 P.M.

Duke University

2-3-0, 2-2-0

Clemson

4-1-0, 2-1-0

Duke

Clemson

Stephen O'Connell dribbles down the field against Kentucky

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Drops Overtime Heartbreaker at Clemson

10/16/2020 11:07:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

CLEMSON, S.C.—Clemson's James Brighton scored 16 seconds into the second overtime to hand Duke a heart-breaking 2-1 loss in men's soccer action this evening at Historic Riggs Field. Brighton had both goals for the Tigers as Clemson escaped with the victory.

With Duke playing with 10 men, the Tigers capitalized right off the opening whistle in the second overtime. Kimarni Smith took the ball down the left side, beat a Duke defender to the endline, and crossed the ball where a wide-open Brighton headed the ball in for the golden goal.

"We definitely didn't deserve to lose and we certainly had two or three good chances to win the game so it's a bummer," said head coach John Kerr.

Stephen O'Connell had the goal for the Blue Devils with Scotty Taylor providing the assist.

The Blue Devils were excellent throughout the 100 minutes of action and were incredibly unlucky not to come away with the win in regulation. Duke outshot 10-8 in the 90 minutes and had a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks as it did well to force Clemson into mistakes and create dangerous counters.

The opening 45 minutes featured exciting end-to-end action from both teams as the Blue Devils were able to pressure Clemson into mistakes, while also playing solid defense against a high-powered Tiger offense.

"We did a pretty good job after the first 25 minutes counter attacking them," Kerr said. "We didn't do it at the outset, but we grew into the game and absorbed a lot of pressure. We were pretty dangerous on the counter attack and were unlucky to convert two chances in the second half that were certain goals."

O'Connell was outstanding for Duke in the first half, wreaking havoc on the left flank. The Rye, N.Y., native gave the Blue Devils a chance in the early minutes, crossing a ball into the box, but Clemson was able to clear the ball from danger.

After a dangerous shot from Clemson Smith skipped just wide left of the goal in the 17th minute, the Blue Devils capitalized minutes later on a Clemson miscue in its defensive third.
O'Connell intercepted the poor pass by the Tigers and touched it to Taylor for a give-and-go. O'Connell took advantage of the empty space behind the Clemson defense, which had pushed forward, and perfectly placed his shot to the near post under Clemson goalkeeper George Marks.

Buzzing with confidence from the goal, the Blue Devils continued to press forward in search of a crucial second tally before the break.

The Tigers, however, stuck with their game plan and equalized in the 34th minute after Grayson Barber's looping shot hit the right post and popped out to James Brighton who did well to bring it down and touch it in to make it 1-1. Neither team had any dangerous looks at goal in the final 11 minutes, ending the first 45 all even.

Clemson, who was fresh off a win over No. 1 Wake Forest Tuesday, had the majority of possession in the first half of the second stanza, but Duke remained patient and didn't let the Tigers do much in the way of creating scoring opportunities.

Duke senior Daniel Wright nearly gave the Blue Devils the 2-1 advantage in the 63rd minute with a free kick that was just off the mark, but would have easily beaten Marks.

With Duke's defense stifling the Tiger offense, the Blue Devils had the better chances down the stretch. Another of the opportunities came in the 76th minute when Nicolas Macri put a chance from the doorstep over the bar. Macri snuck in behind the Clemson defense as a cross fell to his feet on the six-yard box, but couldn't keep the ball low and skied it over.

The Blue Devils, refusing to settle for a tie and road point, continued to press forward. Lewis McGarvey had his header from a corner kick denied by Marks point-blank in the 84th minute and a perfectly timed tackle in the box on Kristofer Gardarsson minutes later stopped a breakaway for the Blue Devils and sent the teams into overtime and the heart-breaking finish.

Shots were tied 10-10 and Duke held a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks. Marks finished with three saves for Clemson, while Will Pulisic had one stop for Duke.

The Blue Devils return home Oct. 23 against Wake Forest. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., on ACC Network.

#GoDuke